Closely watching the announcements from AirVenture this past July, I was waiting for something different from the avionics world. You know, a new product that makes you say, “Now that’s what the market really wants,” but it was a bust. The short list includes products that hit the sweet spot on price, are relatively easy to install and have lots of modern tech that will stay fresh for at least seven years. Buyers want to spend their hard-earned dough on gee-whiz gear that not only modernizes the cockpit and adds utility and safety to their flying, but also tacks on some resale value to the aircraft. Not that there weren’t some attention-getting announcements (we’ll cover them in our AirVenture diary report coming up in the next issue), but news from the avionics world just seemed unremarkable to me, especially after a one-year show hiatus. There’s always next year, although if the supply chain problem worsens (and the pandemic ramps back up) as it appears it will, it could be another snoozer.
I first started going to the big show in Oshkosh in 1989 as a vendor, and for a long stretch of years it was consistently a feeding frenzy for avionics buyers—both panel and portable gear. Hot-selling Loran-C navigators morphed into GPS units, and buyers went to the show with pockets full of cash to score a smoking “show special” deal on the latest equipment from Northstar, Magellan, IIMorrow, Trimble and eventually Garmin. Even the used avionics market was brisk and shops brought truckloads of used gear to sell. The buying spike continued when the noise-canceling headset market came alive. Yes, Oshkosh was the place to buy expensive gadgets. I even remember some avionics shops doing basic installations in the parking areas. It’s just different now, and I wonder why many companies don’t seem to have a finger on the pulse of the typical avionics buyer. I’m talking about the buyer who makes the big upgrade every ten years, or thereabouts. Some vendors deserve a tip of the editorial cap for dialing it in.